compilation Archive
29 Oct 2012
DVD Review: The Move – The Lost Broadcasts
The Move are one of those sixties groups that got lost in the transatlantic shuffle. They arguably had it all: great songwriting, strong vocalists, an a ready-made visual image. A […]
26 Oct 2012
Album Review: Shoes – 35 Years: The Definitive Shoes Collection 1977-2012
As Shoes bassist John Murphy told me in our wide-ranging four-part interview, the new 21-cut compilation on Real Gone Music, 35 Years: The Definitive Shoes Collection 1977-2012 is “is a […]
27 Sep 2012
Album Review: Vince Guaraldi – The Very Best of Vince Guaraldi
The music of Vince Guaraldi could well be described as “jazz for people who don’t like jazz.” And even knowing what little I do about Guaraldi the man, I strongly […]
15 Dec 2010
Album Review: Camel – Rainbow’s End: An Anthology 1973-1985
“They tell me you’re searching…” So begins “Slow Yourself Down,” a track originally on Camel‘s debut LP in 1973. In fact the material on the first disc of the new […]
31 May 2009
DVD Review: Johnny Winter — Live Through the 70s
The DVD kicks off with a true oddity, a performance that is bizarre in any number of ways. This excellent-quality Danish TV clip from 1970 finds Winter playing with his […]
30 May 2009
Album Review: Johnny Winter — The Johnny Winter Anthology
First things first. Whenever a career-spanning anthology crosses this reviewer’s desk, three questions immediately come to mind: Has this artist’s career been summarized on disc before? How’s the sound quality […]
29 May 2009
Album Review: Wattstax: The Living Word
With apologies to Sir Walter Scott, “oh, what a tangled web we weave, when again we practice to re-release.” The 1972 Wattstax festival was black R&B’s excellent (if belated) answer […]
28 May 2009
Album Review: Stax: The Soul of Hip-Hop
This compilation would have been an inspired, brilliant idea, had it not been done already (see review of the 2008 Blue Note compilation Droppin’ Science). So instead it’s merely a […]
27 May 2009
Album Review: Various Artists — Stax Does the Beatles
Before succumbing to the vicissitudes of the record biz, Stax Records was one of the coolest labels in the 60s and 70s. Rawer and earthier than Motown, the black-oriented label […]
26 May 2009
Album Review: Various Artists — Malt shop Memories
I’ve made a similar point before, but it’s worth saying again: in general Time-Life musical retrospectives haven’t got a long history of credibility. In general they’ve been viewed as cash-ins, […]